Sometimes the deal you don’t make is better than the one you do. That about sums up the general feeling of Red Sox Nation regarding the passing of this Sunday’s trading deadline. Despite all the speculation and weeping and moaning and gnashing of teeth over Manny Ramirez, the Sox basically stood still. The one minor move was a bit of an insurance policy in the outfield in the acquisition of Jose Cruz Jr. With Trot Nixon on the injured list, the gold glove outfielder along with the return of Gabe Kapler from Japan shores up the outfield.
It is the beginning of August and there is still plenty of time to be on and off the band wagon, plenty of time to despair if they fall into a little losing streak but for the most part the club is beginning to hit on all cylinders. Last year at this time is about when the team went on a post all star game tear winning 42 and 18. That still wasn’t enough to catch the Yankees for the divisional title but this is a different year. One difference is the Sox are in first place and it is the Yankees who are giving chase.
It is also in many respects a different Sox team. Despite the loss of Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe the Sox still have the strongest front line pitching in the division and that is without having Curt Schilling for most of the year in the starting rotation and losing their primary closer Keith Foulke for the past month.
Unlike years gone by when the club had to make a trading deadline move out of desperation, General Manager Theo was able to basically stand pat in the pitching category because of some of the home grown talent. Jon Papelbon filled in as a starter this week and looks like a certifiable stud. More than one fan whispered the unthinkable, “the kid looks a little like a young Clemens”. He is big and poised and the first two batters he faced went down against a nasty fastball. Manny Delcarmen, Boston’s own contribution to the Sox has proven so far to be a serviceable addition to the pen even though his time in the bigs is short.
Wells, Wakefield, Arroyo and Clement have all been steady with very few missed starts. Wade Miller had recently come up with some arm problems but that has yet to be proven a longer term problem. Wells and Clement who were penned in as the primary replacements for Lowe and Martinez have proven to be up to the task. Wells seems to get better and better with each appearance. We know this guy has the stuff that Octobers are made of.
The infield has been shored up with the earlier additions of both Alex Cora and Tony Graffanino when Mark Bellhorn went down. Both can play second and Cora can spell Edgar at shortstop when necessary. Bill Mueller continues his steady play and Kevin Youkilis is down on the farm should more help be needed. John Olerude’s recent contributions to the club is likely only the beginning as he got a chance to get in the starting line up and get a few key at bats. This guy is a consummate professional with one of the sweetest swings in baseball. His swing is only surpassed by his smooth operation around first base.
The hall mark of this club is the bats surrounding the twin center pieces of Ramirez and Ortiz. It has been two games since the Manny drama and he has only contributed a game winning hit one night and then four of the six runs produced in a win two days later. With 98 games played Manny is leading the league with home runs and has 97 runs batted in. Johnny Damon is having a career year and leading off for a team that will likely finish leading the majors in run production. Jason Varitek is one the most important players on the club even if he didn’t get a hit all year but never the less he has also contributed a near career year in batting average and home runs. Mueller and Renteria are both extremely tough outs When you face this line up there is precious little room for a mistake
Right now this club looks like the reigning World Series Champions. With Schilling almost all the way back and Foulke soon to be ready and the addition of the September call ups the Sox look well positioned to make a strong run to repeat. Man, how good is this?
